Death of Ismaïl in lift at Argenteuil: technician sentenced to 18 months suspended
A technician and two companies have been convicted in the death of a four-year-old child in a lift in 2018. The sentence exceeds the prosecution's demands for TK Elevator.
Fatal lift accident in Argenteuil: Pontoise court delivers its verdict
The Pontoise district court convicted on Wednesday 2 September a 67-year-old technician to 18 months suspended imprisonment for involuntary manslaughter, according to BFM TV. The judgment comes more than eight years after the death of Ismaïl, a four-year-old child, in a lift accident that occurred at the Côté Seine shopping centre in Argenteuil.
Jean-Marc H., the technician in question, was convicted alongside his former employer Bagneux Hydraulique and the lift assembler TK Elevator, formerly ThyssenKrupp. Both companies were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Bagneux Hydraulique was fined 80,000 euros; TK Elevator, 225,000 euros.
The judgment is in line with the prosecutor's demands concerning the technician and Bagneux Hydraulique, but goes beyond them with regard to TK Elevator, for which the prosecution had sought only 150,000 euros in fines.
The family's lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, welcomed the decision: "This is a good decision." He stressed that the court had this time recognised the criminal dimension of such tragedies. "Usually, when there is this type of tragedy, the courts consider that it should be settled from a purely civil point of view, from a compensation point of view, whereas today the court has understood that such conduct constitutes criminal offences," he stated. Ismaïl's mother said she hoped to be able to "start moving forward", while fearing an appeal, as the lawyers for all the defendants pleaded for dismissal.
The facts date back to 8 June 2018. Ismaïl's family was at the Côté Seine shopping centre that day. Having arrived on the first floor, part of the group exits the cabin. Ismaïl follows them when the lift suddenly falls. The boy becomes trapped at the chest between the cabin and the landing, in front of his mother who remained blocked inside. He died on the spot.
The apparatus, a hydraulic type—a rare model in France—had already suffered an oil leak in 2015. Jean-Marc H., who joined Bagneux Hydraulique in 1978, had intervened to replace the hose used to transport the oil. According to expert assessments filed in the case, the connection had not been properly made. At the bar, the technician acknowledged an error, without being able to explain it.
Source: BFM TV